Panic! at the Disco formed in 2004 as a Blink-182 cover band from Las Vegas, eventually topping the charts in 2005 with their triple platinum debut album A Fever You Can't Sweat Out.
The band (originally called Pet Salamander) impressed Pete Wentz of Fall Out Boy, and the newly renamed band was the first to sign to Wentz's label Decaydance Records.
For a while, Panic! and shared Fall Out Boy's reputation for egregious song titles like "Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off" and "The Only Difference Between Suicide and Martyrdom is the Press Coverage."
"I Write Sins, Not Tragedies" won MTV Video of the Year in 2006, cementing its name as the most popular Panic! song of all time at over 700,000,000 Spotify streams.
As one might expect from a high school band, front-lines shifted with musical direction. Urie and Smith, who wanted further the band's electropop repertoire, split from Ross and Walker, who went on to form the Young Veins. Though touring continued as usual, the band never once stepped foot on the Warped Tour stage.
Brendon and Spencer found new musicians in the guitarist of the Cab and the bassist of the Brobecks, who auditioned without knowing any of the songs.
Immediately following the split, Panic released a song on the soundtrack of Jennifer’s Body and confirmed upcoming tour dates. Despite the gradual genre shift, studio recordings never depreciated in quality.
Panic! attempted a hard rebrand with their 2018 album Pray for the Wicked, an even flashier, jazzier sound featuring a full brass band. While it wasn't the same P!ATD long-time fans were craving, it went a long way in satiating the itch and maintaining relevancy. But they couldn't replicate that success live and on tour.
In 2020, Urie was "cancelled" after allegations of sexual abuse of a minor dating back to a 2011 tour. Videos of racial and rape related jokes at concerts began surfacing. But as his critics feared, the starlet set his sights on another round of touring and another year riding the coat tails of his former band's early success.
Brendon later apologized on Twitch stream for his use of slurs, and most of his fanbase was quick to accept the apology.
Hypebeasts willing to splurge on tour tickets for the novelty and nostalgia ultimately paid to watch a captain sink with his ship. Between the pained screeches marketed as vocals and the second-hand embarassment of the crowd going silent, Panic! at the Disco was little more than Brendon Urie and the musicians he hired to stand behind him.
Finally, in January 2023, Brendon Urie announced his retirement, ending the decades-long downhill slide. Just like that, Panic! at the Disco is no more.
